Teen Ink

I didn’t plan on the woman in the coffee shop changing my life. I just wanted a bumper sticker. She had a six-inch stack with “Obama for President” in large blue letters. But Amy was not just ­selling paraphernalia. She was the new area manager for the Obama campaign, and she was hiring interns.

That day, I became a volunteer for Team Obama. It was the middle of July, and I spent the rest of my summer as one of the chief staplers, copiers, and coffee makers of the Southeast Michigan Headquarters. Amy taught me the ins and outs of modern campaign work. I made phone calls, tracked voters in databases, wrote letters to superdelegates, and knocked on hundreds of doors. My special job was organizing area teens. We registered voters at park festivals, signed up volunteers at school registration, and baked cookies for fellow volunteers.

I had worked on campaigns before, but this one was different. It changed me. At the start of the summer I was a shy, rather unsure 16-year-old, but by the time November rolled around, I was confident and felt good about the work I’d done. Everyone who helped with the Obama campaign felt a palpable energy, a ­ferocity of hope and joy that we were working toward something that really mattered. Maybe we couldn’t change the world, but if Obama got elected, we’d come pretty close.

From the beginning, Obama has inspired people to work together to make life better for everyone. He has told us that we are responsible for changing our world, and he has called us to action. Obama makes me feel as though things will be better, and that I can be a part of it.

Election Day was amazing. Inauguration Day was even better. Barack Obama was elected because ­people had hope that we could fix our many problems together. Amy had a part in it. Millions of volunteers had a part in it. I had a part in it. On the way to an inauguration party, I smiled at that bumper sticker on the back of my minivan. I am so grateful that I stopped for a coffee that day.